


The Shadow's Secret

by HattieChats



Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: F/M, I'm gonna create a monkey that is so touch starved, M/M, Why do I keep doing this to myself?!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:46:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27502525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HattieChats/pseuds/HattieChats
Summary: Someone please make a summary for this!
Relationships: Macaque/Reader
Comments: 49
Kudos: 126





	1. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta start the fic somewhere...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just refuse to learn from writing reader fics huh?

You heard a crash not too far off from the small garden which you tended. Curiosity and concern filled with each step that got closer to the source. In time, you came across a creek and a newly acquired crater beginning to pool with water. The center of the crater carried an unmoving body.

To say you freaked out from the site would feel like an understatement, considering the scream you let out before covering it with your hand in an attempt to regain composure.

You took in deep breaths as you slid into the crater and got closer to the body, hoping that whoever that was in it was still alive. To your relief, that was the case.

The person’s back rhythmically rose and fell, a small strain coming from them when you rolled them off their chest and onto their back. The hood of their cloak draped over his face, carefully you pulled it back to see if there were any injuries. You paused at the fact that this wasn’t a human in front of you, but a demon.

The skin on his face was light brown except for the deep red skin that surrounded his eyes and spread to his brow, cheeks, and ended at his nose. There was a deep cut over his right eyebrow and the blood didn’t look like it would stop soon. The jet black hair he had was closer to fur with how it covered more than just his head, it went on as far as his hands which were as sharp as claws.

Hesitation took over you, unsure if you should try to help the demon at all. Slowly you backed away, the rippling water announcing your movement.

Three of the six ears of the demon twitched from the sound. Something latched onto your wrist, of course it could only be the demon's hand.

You struggled, trying to pry it off. You only stopped once you noticed the demon was staring right at you.

There wasn’t any form of malice in his eyes, only a look of exhaustion seeking any kind of aid. Glints of gold shone in the light as his grip on you weakened, eyes fluttered shut after.

You couldn’t find it in your conscience to leave him with the look he gave. A pout was on your face, soon you made your decision and tried to pick him up.

You looked around, trying to see anything that could be of help but nothing stood out. You wanted to act fast and get this demon out.

You groaned, pulling one of his arms over your shoulder and wrapping one of your own around his waist. It was a little surprising that he felt lighter than he looked. You shook the thought out of your head, not to question it.

You looked up at the morning sky, wondering what could have the force to slam a being mountains away and still leave a dent at the very end.

You hoped to never meet that demon.

A few hours passed, the six eared demon awoke with a loud groan as he tried to push himself up right. You could hear him yelp in pain from another room and made your way back to see how he was doing now.

“Careful,” you told the demon as you quickly came to his side. “I don’t want your wounds to reopen.”

The demon paused from your words once you gently placed a hand on the bandages that you wrapped around his chest, shoulders, and back. You looked over to see if any blood had spilled and saw the bandages were still clean.

“Okay,” you muttered. “You’re good here.”

The demon kept his eyes on you, watching the small movements of your hands.

You turned your attention from his back to his face, specifically the bandages that wrapped around his head and over his eyebrow. Carefully you brought your hands to his face, softly digging under the bandage and exposing it to your view.

You gave a confused look at the vanished wound, not so much as scarring leftover. “I guess we can take this off, it looks like it’s all healed up.”

The demon just stared at you with golden eyes as you slowly peeled off the strip of bandage off his head.

“You feeling any better?” you asked as you had the bandages wrap over your hands.

“Who are you?” the demon asked back, his hand grabbing your wrist like he did before. “Why am I here?”

You flinched from the contact made by the demon before you answered with your name. You took a deep breath so you wouldn’t freak out, you did notice that the demon wasn’t squeezing your wrist at any capacity.

“I found you by the creek and was worried,” is all you could really answer. “I brought you here since I thought it would be easier on the body if you were sleeping on a couch than dirt.”

The demon looked away after that, he seemed disinterested. You would have given him alone time, but his hand was still around your wrist and stopping you from leaving.

“What’s your name?” you asked.

“Macaque, The Six Eared Macaque,” he answered, his ears twitched to give no further reason on why that was his name.

The name sounded familiar, but you figured if you asked it would be something he has probably heard several times over.

“Okay, Macaque,” you said, trying to set his name in your mind. “Do you wanna stay here a bit longer while you recover or do you want to just get going?”

Macaque’s tail twitched and swayed as he seemed to consider it, his chin in his free hand. “I’ll think it over.”

You smiled at that. “Okay. I made enough stew for two but if that’s not your thing I have a bunch of fruit in the kitchen.”

Macaque smiled at you, it was much more charming than you would have expected from a monkey demon. It may have helped with how soft and smooth his voice sounded too.

As you stood to walk away, you forgot that Macaque had a hold on your wrist and promptly stopped you. You stared at where you connected for a brief moment.

“Thanks by the way,” Macaque added as he quickly released you.

“It’s nothing,” you told him, your smile widening a bit. “You can stay right there, I'll bring the food over.”

As you walked away, Macaque pressed his thumb against the palm of his hand, feeling remnants of the warmth of your touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if when it gets to the smut I'll put that in the fic itself or just having it become a separate thing so that way I can keep a decent rating on this thing.


	2. Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you take care of Macaque's wounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cool, I'm tired and have work in the morning. I just don't learn my lessons, huh?

Macaque’s wounds were healing faster that you expected, but you should have seen that coming since he was a demon. Part of you wanted to celebrate with how speedy his recovery was going but you worried about acting too familiar with him. Involvement with demons was a guarantee to ruin your life or something just as important in it.

Still, he didn’t really radiate the same energy as the destructive demons that were wreaking havoc on the news. Macaque came off more composed, less likely to cause chaos for the amusement of it. Despite knowing better, something about the calm face he made when he slept, the way his fangs peeked out of his smile, and the smooth tone in his voice made you content and unafraid.

You shook the image out of your head. You didn’t know him that well to begin with. It could all be a front you were falling for way too easily.

You grabbed a fresh roll of bandages and a tube of antibiotic ointment from the cabinet then shut the door. Redressing wounds needed to be done on a daily basis and despite how quickly Macaque's wounds healed in the few days you've known him, you didn't want any infection to occur.

Macaque sat on the couch, occupying himself with meditation practices from the looks of it. You gave a soft knock against the wall so he would know you were here. He opened his golden eyes and gave a quick glance at what was in your hands. His tail no longer swayed with his meditative breaths, he leaned forward and propped his head with a slightly bruised hand. “Didn’t we just change my bandages?”

“Yeah,” you answered as you stepped forward to him then sat on the edge of the table in front of him. “I know it’s not fun but it needs to be done.”

Macaque gave a small huff, obviously annoyed.

“I promise I’ll try to be as gentle as possible,” you told him, remembering the small groans of pain he made yesterday.

Macaque didn’t say a word but his tail swayed with no sense of stress. You took it as a sign to go ahead, first snipping the bandages off him. The black fur ran down his back and the sides of his arms, there was also a tuft over his chest that got thinner as it made its way down his stomach.

You peeled and pulled the bandages off any uninjured skin with ease, it was getting close to the healing cuts was when it got hard. He didn’t seem to mind the bandages struggling with leaving his skin though.

It was when you had to rewrap the bandage he looked uncomfortable.

You pressed your hand at his side and held the end of the bandage down then began to wrap it around him. Macaque struggled with taking in a long deep breath through his nose, he bit his lip as if to keep himself quiet.

“Do you want me to stop?” you questioned, slowing down in case the answer would turn out to be yes.

“It’s okay,” he strained, there was an occasionally shudder from him.

“Okay,” you told him. You finished the light wrapping over his chest and made your way up and over his shoulder. Your hand on his other shoulder to keep balance, slowly moving to his back as you wrapped the last of the bandage there.

The fur on Macaque's back and neck began to rise, like he was ready to make a break for it. The same groans from yesterday came as he seemed to spasm under your touch.

“Are you okay?” You asked, taking your hands off him and quickly sitting in front of him.

Macaque turned away from you. Annoyance painting his expression as brightly as the deep red marks on his face. “Trust me, it’s nothing.”

You brought your hand to his cheek and lead him to look at you. He seemed to press into your palm despite the expression.

“Listen, I want you to get better,” you spoke in a clear voice. “I need to know if there's anything that’s bothering you or if you need help on anything.”

Macaque curled his hand over your own, bringing down your hand from his face. A scowl growing as he began to talk. “You’re too nice for you’re own good, you know that, right?”

“And if I wasn’t, you’d still be covered in dirt and blood,” you told him. “Would you have preferred that?”

Macaque raised his eyebrows in surprise from the quick response, his expression turned to amusement. “So you’re not just a sweetheart all the time?” Macaque noted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He kept your hand in his, claw-like fingernails taking the time to separate your fingers from each other. His tail swayed side to side, curling over and occasionally brushing against you.

You were half tempted to grab his tail and see how much he’d yell from the pain, but you held back the urge.

“Are you done?” you kept an annoyed tone, doing your best to hide the anxiety that was trying to close your throat. “If you don’t want to stay, you’re free to leave.”

The demon’s smile grew at that. “Who ever said I wanted to leave? Why would I want to leave a hidden gem like you?”

Those words snapped your throat shut. Was he complimenting you, threatening you, or both? You couldn’t say anything but glare back at him, your trapped hand slowly curling into itself and turning into a fist. Macaque smirked at the attempt at strength and slowly released your hand, his thumbnail gently grazing your palm as it left.

“Should I take that as a compliment or...?” You were finally able to speak once he let go.

Macaque's fangs seem to grow in his smile from that. “It’s whatever you want it to be.”

You could feel a heat spread across your face but you did nothing to show attention to it, you only leaned closer to the demon. “Are you the same Macaque from the stories I heard of?”

“Oh, I am so much more than just those stories.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I got that touch starve vibe going, if not, I need to do better.


	3. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, I'm sleepy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see how fucking touch starved this monkey is.

Macaque had himself get comfortable after he made a small boast on who he was.

It still left you confused since you were certain Macaque was killed by the Monkey King according to the story you read all those years ago. You definitely remember something along the lines of Macaque getting bashed in the head. Were you misremembering details or did Macaque cheat death and go into hiding?

You ended up brushing the thought aside; the exact details of Macaque’s survival from centuries ago didn’t matter in the here and now. Right now you should be thinking about exorcising the demon out of your home.

You paused for a moment, his threat wasn’t exactly one to begin with, he even told you to take it anyway you wanted. The idea of being complimented by a powerful spirit or such did have some appeal to it. Though it may have helped that he was easy on the eyes.

His soft jet black fur over his body, the light brown skin with a strangely tender touch, and those golden eyes that seem to illuminate.

Nope!

You quickly shook the image out of your head. You absolutely did not need to see Macaque in that way!

If Macaque even knew for a second on the trailing thoughts you occasionally had of him, you would never hear the end of it. You just wished you had some advantage over the demon, anything to get the upper hand.

You could only let out a small sigh as you grabbed the slowly shrinking roll of bandages along with the rest of the first aid kit.

You sat behind Macaque as you began to rewrap his back while trying to burn holes in his skull with your glare. Nothing came of it but you did notice that his tail twitched more the closer your hand was to his spine and small strained breaths came from Macaque no matter how gentle you tried to be.

“Hey,” you called out to get his attention.

“What?” Macaque's voice still strained.

“Does it hurt when I do this?” you asked as you pressed your entire hand against one of his shoulder blades.

His tail twitched like he had been shocked, his fur seemed to rise too. You could see him move his hand to his mouth, what he was doing you had no clue.

“No,” is all he answered.

“Are you sure?” you questioned as you removed your hand. “Okay, what about this?”

You brought both hands to his back and had them move from the center then to his sides. Macaque actually seemed to spasm from it, his strains just a bit louder and his tail wrapping around your arm as if it were trying to stop you.

He didn’t say anything, just shook his head no. His shoulders relaxed when you pulled your hands away.

You stared at his tail that was still wrapped around your arm, your free hand grabbed the furry appendage and Macaque seemed to freeze into place. His tail bent itself straight once it was under your touch and not the other way around.

“Is everything alright?” you asked as you let go of his tail.

A shudder ran through out his body after, he looked back at you with a burning glare. You could only reply with a blink.

He turned away from you, his hands running through his fur as if trying to brush it back down. He groaned in annoyance as his hands went over his six ears and turned to only two to your surprise.

“Don’t do that again,” he said in low voice.

The way he acted when touched was definitely not a response to pain, probably the opposite if your hunch was right.

You brought your hands to his shoulders, the grip trying to remain firm but nonthreatening. Macaque tensed up again, he looked at you with a glare that might actually be able to burn a hole in your skull. The red coloring on his face certainly added to the bloodthirsty expression.

Your hands slide from his shoulders, over his collarbone, then around his neck. You made certain to leave enough space that Macaque would absolutely know that you weren't trying to give him the weakest attempt at a chokehold in your arms. He still shuddered you noticed, like he was overwhelmed by the alien feeling of being touched without the intent of harm. He didn't reject it instantly which was good on your end of this.

One of his hands curled over your arms, his claws barely digging into your skin. As if he wasn’t certain what to do with you at this moment.

“What about this? Is this okay?” you asked in a calm voice. You slowly brought yourself up and over him and rest your chin on the top of his head.

You could still feel a slight tremor that seemed to travel across his spine and throughout his body, you could hear a groan leave him along with the tension in his shoulders.

He didn’t answer, after another silent moment you began to let go, only then his hand gripped you a bit harder to tell you to stay.

“It’s okay,” he finally answered after what felt like several minutes. It had to be on his terms on when he was fine with you no longer holding him in your arms.

Macaque turned away from you after that, his eyebrows knit together as he seemed to think about what and why his body reacted that way.

You were still going to use this newly found advantage though, definitely getting a feeling that he was probably craving something other than medical attention. You held one of his hands with both of your own, his hand twitched for the moment but soon relaxed against the warmth of your skin.

“What’s your plan in all this?” Macaque asked, as if he knew you planned to use this to your advantage.

You smiled at him as you leaned closer to him, the marks on his face looking a tad redder in your eyes. “I just want to help you get better, what happens after is all up to you.”

The Six Eared Macaque couldn’t seem to find a way to respond to that, he soon smiled at your words as though you had given him list of possibilities on where this could go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, I don't think I'll post a new chapter until the day after since I've been a really bad head space at the moment... -_-;  
> I just hope it just lasts for a day and I can get back to writing just as quickly.  
> I'm sorry!


	4. Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna create a monkey that is so touch starved...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just freaking speedrun this relationship, huh?

You were trying to relax, whether it be by book, internet, or going between the two. Anything that could keep your mind off the demon that was walking around your home. Even if it meant stepping outside and taking a seat on a small, dusty wooden porch.

“Whatcha looking at?” Macaque asked as he snatched the phone out of your hand, looking at a puzzle game on the screen.

He promptly dropped the phone, you being quick to catch it before it could hit the ground.

“What do you want?” you ask back, turning off the screen then securing your phone in your front pocket.

“Is it too much to enjoy your company?” Macaque joked as he sat next to you on the wood flooring, back pressing against the wall and his hands acting as a pillow. He gave a smug smile in your direction, his tail going out of its way to poke and prod at your sides.

“Your bandages bothering you or something?” You tried to guess, giving a quick scan at his form.

The bandages that peeked out of his worn black and yellow shirt didn't look too tight on him, the light scratches on his hands were almost gone along with any bruises that you found on him. If he kept healing at this rate, he should be completely healed in about two weeks.

Him leaving was a different matter.

“Nope,” Macaque told you, his tail grabbing at the hood of your jacket then pulling it over your head. A small chuckle came from him as you yelped from the action.

You pulled your hood back, revealing a scowl in his direction.

“Don’t you have better things to do?” You questioned. “Like meditation or minding your own business?”

His tail continued to press at your body, from tapping the shoulder furthest away to trailing under your chin. The alien sensation almost making you shudder.

“Will you stop that?!” a demanding tone in your voice, your curled fist ready to grab and yank his tail so he’d get the message.

“Make me,” Macaque laughed.

If he wanted to tease you, you were going to tease him right back.

In a swift motion, you moved off the wooden floor and onto his lap. It was though Macaque had become stone after that, his form frozen and his expression painted with surprise. (Maybe even with a hint of panic.)

You were tempted to laugh in his face from the expression alone, you managed to hold back with a smug look of your own.

Gently, you brought your hands over his shoulders while avoiding putting too much pressure on his injuries. The fur on his tail seemed to stand on ends from the sensation, you could only assume the rest of the fur on his body did the same.

As you got closer, you could swear that his face looked a tinge redder.

Your fingers went to the back of his neck, curling the short locks as they traveled up. When your hands reached the top, fingers brushing against his scalp and softy scratching his skin, Macaque pressed his forehead to your shoulder, giving a lot more control and a better idea on where to touch him.

A soft hum came from Macaque, as if to tell you he enjoyed this without actually having to admit it. As your touch pressed into him more, you could hear him strain to hold the sound in. His arms and tail now at his sides but still managing to touch just the smallest piece of you.

You were definitely enjoying this side of him, wondering exactly how much you could push it.

Slowly you brought your hands from his hair to the sides of his face, pushing him to look at you. He looked relaxed despite the slightly bothered expression.

You pressed your lips against the red marking on his face, his skin feeling warm from the contact. You didn’t need to look to know how he tensed under the touch.

When you pulled back you were greeted with a poorly disguised expression, his flustered look easy to read through the false anger. His tail couldn’t seem to decide between grabbing you and twitching to escape.

You curled your hand under your chin, a smirk as plain as day on your face.

“You looked like you enjoyed that,” you said, barely holding back the laugh that was ready to escape your throat.

The flustered monkey managed to look angrier from the statement, but you weren’t fooled for a moment. He didn’t push away or bare teeth in intimidation. You were still seated on his lap and enjoying his reactions.

You inched towards him, leaning to the skin on his neck and pressing your lips against it. A smile growing from feeling him flinch just the slightest.

Repeating the motion of the soft kisses to his neck, you made sure that your mouth would open bit by bit to add in nips to his skin. Macaque responded by craning his neck as he leaned back and pressed against the wall, his arms making sure you wouldn’t slip from his grasp, his tail wrapping at your waist and making the smallest bit of contact with the skin under your shirt.

Soon you heard something more than just a hum or his stifled groans.

“Ah...”

That was definitely a moan and you wanted to hear more of it.

You bit a little harder after the next kiss, teeth digging into the skin to leave a light mark, his breath hitched in response.

You pulled away from Macaque to see his head still up, his mouth agape and eyes strained to stay shut. There was a slight bruise on his bottom lip, like he bit on it to keep quiet for as long as he could. His breathing slowing down as he realized that the affection you gave him came to an end.

He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling for a moment before looking down at you. His tail brushed off you and calmly swayed as if nothing happened.

“What _do_ you want?” Macaque asked, glaring at you. One of his fangs peeking from his scowl.

You smiled at that then press your lips against his, feeling his teeth nip you just as you pulled away. “Is it too much to enjoy your company?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably going to go back to the Wukong fanfic for a few days after this. Maybe smut happens next with his fic but idk.


	5. Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He should be healed up by now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh, headache, whatever, I'm going to bed.

Macaque made it a habit of messing with your stuff, from hanging out on the roof of your home to entering any room that he had even the slightest of interest in. An invasion of your personal space seemed extremely likely in the near future. You were no better on that though; especially with necking the demon monkey not so long ago.

You leaned against one of the walls of your small kitchen, thinking of how much longer Macaque was planning to stay. His wounds were practically healed, the only thing that could cause concern was that they would still be tender for the coming days. The thick cloth he wore could cover it for the most part, his bandages weren’t really needed, they were there so he would know not to push himself.

You shook your head as an image of him in just the bandages came to mind. Nope! His injuries weren’t going to be your problem anymore very soon.

For a moment you thought you saw Macaque’s tail sway in the corner of a nearby window. You almost considered checking up on him to see what he was doing, but you thought it was better on not to. You were going back to bed, done with the day even though the sun just started to set.

Of course, Macaque would be in your way. He sat on his haunches as he seem to wait for you while he read an old book that you haven’t even looked at for years. His ear twitched once the floorboard under you creaked, he then looked up. His expression was blank for a moment before it turned to a smirk.

“What?” you ask, still making your way to your room, hand already on the door knob.

“Nothing,” Macaque hummed as he shut the book and stood up. He didn’t make any sound that he was in pain nor show any strain. “Been wondering what your place actually looks like for sometime though.”

You paused in midturn of the knob to look at him, not sure how to react to that. Macaque only smiled as his tail pushed the door open. You almost lost your balance from that but caught quickly yourself.

Macaque walked inside your room like he had done it before, his tail seem to sway with some interest you noticed. Your brows knit together as he looked at your dresser, window, bed.

“This looks nice,” he said aloud, quickly leaving the ground and jumped onto the bed. His back slamming against the mattress and body bouncing back up a bit. You noticed he made no sounds of pain. “I could get used to something like this.”

“You seem to be making yourself at home,” you commented. “You sure you don’t just want to move in at this point?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he told you all too happily as he sat up with his legs crossed.

Your eyebrows rose from that answer, your hand leaving the door and your arms crossing over your chest.

“I was joking,” you clarified. “The last thing I want is a demon trashing my place like it’s his own.”

Macaque hopped off your bed from that and made his way to you, something felt off about the straight expression he gave. He leaned just a bit closer as if to get a better look into your eyes.

“But you _like_ having me here,” he said with a smug smile.

A twitch could be felt in your face from that comment. He snuffed out any anger that was going to fuel you to argue with him. He just went straight to the point and landed right on the mark.

“If you had wanted me out already, you could have at least tried to exorcise me,” Macaque pointed out. “It wouldn’t have worked, but the effort would have been noticed.”

Macaque’s smile seem to grow from the lack of response.

“Also, you being _very_ interested in making sure to give me much more than just medical attention sends a certain message,” he added on.

Your mouth opened to say something, anything, but nothing could get out. Your eyes darted to see anything hint Macaque was lying to you about him believing this claim, his confidence in it was a clear as day though.

“You know, you could do _that_ again,” Macaque told you, his face getting dangerously close to your own. “It’s not like I mind or anything.”

Your mouth shut, you couldn’t find anything to say to that. You could only look away, unable to stare into his golden eyes. His tail seemed to flick in anticipation, that caught your notice.

Wait, he _wanted_ you to kiss him again?

You felt a wet gulp go down your dry throat from the thought.

Your brow furrowed after a moment, trying to psych yourself up in the small amount of time you had. Air filled your lungs and was ready to be the fuel to replace a fiery anger at him.

You grabbed at Macaque’s shirt, fingers tightly gripping the brown and golden cloth, then pulled him towards you.

Macaque almost seemed surprised by the sudden confidence considering the tiny yelp that came out. His hand clutching the door frame to keep his balance and not topple over you as he leaned a little further than his center of gravity would have allowed.

You could feel your face burn, your cheeks aflame from the embarrassment of the very accurate claim Macaque made.

His lips were softer than you remembered. You pulled away for not even half a second to push the kiss further, your mouth opening slightly, hoping that he would copy the motion.

He did and you responded by having your hands move from clinging to his shirt to running in his hair. You could feel him moan into your mouth from the touch.

His free hand making its way to the back of your neck then have his fingers gently pull the hair at the base of your skull. You only responded by opening your mouth a bit more, figuring out the inside of his own mouth with your tongue. His tail wrapped at your waist once more, bringing you closer and finding a way to touch your soft skin without using his callused hands.

In time, you couldn’t breathe. You had to pull away from him for air if you wanted to even consider going any further.

You did, then quickly went to Macaque’s neck to nip and bite the tender brown skin to hear him moan with no restrictions.

You don’t know when you had reached your bed but Macaque was the first to fall back with you quick to straddle him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cool, were getting into the smut a lot faster than the Wukong fic. I'm gonna make the smut in a separate fic thing so that the rating is sort of decent. Also if the smut is somewhere else, I can just write more without having to worry about the plot lol


	6. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, something happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is wondering where the smut went considering the last chapter, it's in a different fic since I want to keep the rating for fic somewhat age appropriate.

At some point, probably earlier than you wanted to admit, you fell asleep with Macaque on top of you. The side of his face against your chest, his ear pressed over your heart. When you awoke, the afterglow had left and you were now stewing in some mixed feelings.

A string of curses filled your mind as you stared at the ceiling. Fingers combed the hair on Macaque’s head to which the sleeping monkey responded with a hum.

A dull ache emitted from your shoulder, the opposite hand went over it to smother the sensation. You let out a soft groan as you tried to rub the pain away, when you pulled your hand back a faded red painted your fingers.

Concern and confusion covered your face, you looked at your shoulder to see it decorated with bruises and what was definitely a bite mark in the center.

You could only let out a sharp exhale over your embarrassment from Macaque marking you as his own. Your face began to burn as you remembered that you basically gave him permission to do this from what you said in the middle of that rut.

_I’m all yours to use._

You wanted to scream.

Why would you say something like that?

All you could do now was just lie down and let your thoughts settle as the monkey who was the cause of these issues used you as a pillow. Still, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of calm wash over once you glanced at his peaceful (if somewhat smug) expression. Your hand brushed the top of his head, enjoying how soft his hair was and the hum that would come out of him on occasion.

Part of you wanted to let yourself enjoy this for a few more moments but you felt a twinge of fear over what could happen if you fall any further for the Six-Eared Macaque.

Hopefully this would be a one time thing, something that both of you needed just to get out of your systems, an itch to scratch, and nothing else.

You took in one last breath while your hand gently curled over the macaque's fur to keep a memory of the texture before letting go, you pushed yourself up and took the time to move without waking up the sleeping demon. Something about this stung but you knew you’d fare better this way you thought as you grabbed your clothes off the floor.

Funny how you were now the one sleeping on the couch, curled in the thick blanket that left was for Macaque when he first entered your home. You pressed your head into the throw pillow, trying to fall back asleep only to have your mind’s buzzing thoughts keep you up.

You tried to block it out by scrolling through your phone, watching funny videos to reading up on some stories you had put on hold. None of it really kept your mind off of what you did with Macaque but it did manage to make your eyes heavy and in turn lull the rest of your body to a somewhat peaceful sleep.

When you woke up, the first thing you saw was a pair of golden eyes staring at you in interest. That woke you up faster than a splash of cold water to the face.

“Sup,” Macaque greeted, his expression was hard to read. If you didn’t know any better, the night you had spent with him never happened.

Your surprised face soon turned to annoyed, somewhat grumpy that you couldn't ease your way awake. “Hey. What is it?”

“Just wondering how you were,” he answered, his tail swaying as he stayed crouched on your coffee table.

“I’m fine,” you mumbled, sitting up and rubbing at your face to get rid of the sleep in your eyes. “Thanks for the concern.”

Your hand went to your shoulder, arm rolling to crack the bones and start the day. It still stung from the pressure you placed on the bruises, all you let yourself do was wince before stretching again.

“Still sore, huh?” Macaque questioned, a slight smirk showing now.

You only let out a scoff before replying. “Bite me.”

“Already did,” he remarked.

“Just shut it,” you muttered, pulling the blanket off and making your way back to your room to change into a different pair of clothes. You made certain to lock the door to at least put up the attempt at keeping the demon from following.

You were ready to leave your home to visit the market, fresh food was becoming noticeably scarce thanks to the appetite of a certain demon. You called out for Macaque if he wanted to join you despite the high chance of it being a no. After a third call into the empty air, you figured he was purposely ignoring you.

The warm sunlight hitting your skin felt so nice, the breeze came at the perfect time just before the heat would be too much. Chatter filled the streets of the market along with the scents of freshly cooked food and baked goods, you were tempted to stuff your canvas bag to the brim but managed to hold back. You could save the best for last, right now your focus needed to be set on meat, fruits, and vegetables.

Not taking in your morning greeting with Macaque, you were about to take the risk and say this was going to be the start of a good day.

That was until a speeding noodle cart nearly ran you over while trying to cross the street. You wanted to shout at the departing driver, only stopping yourself because it wasn’t going to help in any real way.

“No, no, I’m gonna have a good day,” you mumbled to yourself. Just wanted to buy your groceries and move on with the day. That was easy enough, baby steps.

“Okay,” you muttered as you looked everything in your bag, checking off row by row of your mental list. It looked like you bought everything you needed and with some cash to spare to buy something sweet.

Somewhere in your mind, you wondered if that noodle delivery cart was like a boomerang, because it came right back and got you when you least expected it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 guesses on who shows up and the first 2 don't count.


	7. Payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damn, like this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even thirsting for Macaque but here I fucking am.

“Oh my gosh! I am so, _so_ sorry!” The voice of a young man called out, quick to see how you were before trying to pull you up. Your eyes opened wide despite all the pain you held, a poisonous glare directed at the driver that made him almost stop in his tracks.

Almost.

After the brief pause, the delivery boy got you to sit up before crouching in front of you.

He had a baby face was the first thing that caught your attention, a bright red bandana wrapped his forehead while the rest of his clothes were dull in comparison. (Save for that logo of a pig chef with a bowl sewn on.)

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” you strained to say. Your body now more sore than it was in the morning, for some reason your body curled over and shield your groceries like it mattered more than your own life.

You could only wince when you tried to push yourself up.

“Here, let me help,” he offered, picking you up with a lot more ease than you would have expected considering his stature. His hands still holding your arms in case you would fall without the support.

“Thanks,” you muttered, taking in deep breaths like your pain would leave that way.

“Do you need to sit down or something?” the delivery boy asked, quickly looking around for at least something you could use as a seat.

“That’d be nice actually,” you admitted, your eyes shutting again as a wave of pain took over with the movement of simply walking.

The noodle delivery boy introduced himself as MK, he sat by as you checked to see nothing except a bad bruise on your side from the impact. The pain started to subside after a few minutes thank goodness.

“Look, I am so sorry,” MK told you once again.

“It’s fine, _I’m fine_ ,” you told him, looking through your canvas bag to see nothing broke. “You’re gonna get sued someday if you’re always this quick to take the blame.”

MK looked a bit shocked from the advice. A huge reason you couldn’t even that angry at him was because how he was ready to help at the drop of a hat.

“You’re not gonna sue me, are you?” MK asked in a soft whisper.

You shook your head with a light laugh. “Nah, I’m not that kind of person.”

“Oh good,” MK sighed with relief.

That got another laugh out of you.

“What?” MK a bit curious in what was so funny.

“It’s nothing, just, you are _so_ different from my roommate,” you answered. You struggled in coming up with the word roommate but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Like, they don’t care or something?” MK didn’t seem to follow.

“My roommate is kind of, rude,” you went with. “More focused on himself than others. Don’t hate him though.”

“Hmm,” MK hummed, not really adding in his two cents. He looked at his phone, seeing if there was a message from his boss but nothing.

You stood up, your body no longer aching from anything that wasn’t pressure on the bruise. “I think I’m fine now,” you told him.

“You sure?” He asked. “I can drive you home or something.”

“It’s fine,” you assured. “My place isn’t that far from here anyway.”

“Okay,” MK replied, pulling out a slip of paper then handing it to you. “I’m not really supposed to give these away but if you ever want some noodles, here’s a buy one, get one 50% off coupon.”

You stared at the coupon, looking at the faded neon logo then flipping it back to see the website and the shop’s number. “You sure you don’t just want to give me your number?”

MK actually looked flustered from that. “Uh, what? No!”

Another laugh made its way out of you.

“I’m messing with you! I’ll keep this in mind though!” You slipped the paper into your pocket, then started making your way home with a wave goodbye. “See you around, MK.”

You weren’t completely certain if the boy’s face was turning red but his expression was more than enough to make your day.

You knew a shortcut home, an alleyway between complexes that was riddled with a few trash cans and fire escapes on the walls. It always managed to cut your walks by 10 minutes, just wished that they would actually change the lights for the lamp posts even though there was still daylight.

The atmosphere always managed to get on your nerves.

“So what you’ve been up to?” a voice asked, the heat of their breath practically hitting the shell of your ear.

Quickly, you turned around, legs in a stance to give you a lower center of gravity and hands in fists ready for the worst. Your shoulders dropped as you saw Macaque hang upside down with his tail holding the bar of the escape ladder.

“Don’t do that,” you muttered. Your defensive position now back to simple standing.

“Alright,” Macaque answered with a somewhat uninterested tone. He hopped off the ladder and landed on his feet in a quick motion. “So what did you do today?”

“Nothing much,” you answered, you held up the bag to show him what you had. “Just buying groceries...”

“Just that?” Macaque got a little closer to you, looking at the bag before taking it out of your hand to see the contents.

“Well, I almost got run over but the guy was actually really sweet so I let it go,” you mentioned, your arms crossed as Macaque seemed to make note of what you bought.

“Red bandana? Baby face? A little handsy helping you up?”

Your eyes widened just slightly at that. “Oddly specific, but yes. Why were you following me?”

Macaque seemed to ignore your question. The monkey demon let the bag leave his hands, his tail taking it away as he move toward you, almost pushing you to the alley wall without a single touch.

“I think you kind of enjoyed that,” Macaque told you as his hand almost hovered over your bruise, a soft brush of your shirt against the skin. “Do you think he’s cute?”

You said nothing, eyes locked on him as you felt his sharp nails pick under the hem of your shirt.

“Maybe thinking on going back and seeing if you can find him again?” Macaque asked, his face inching closer to your own. His breath hitting the side of your jaw and voice clearly at your ear. “Maybe you need a reminder on who owns you.”

His hand went under your shirt, rough skin gently pressing the edges of your bruise before making his way up. Your blood ran cold from the contact for a brief moment, your eyes shutting like it would stop him but it only had you notice the tinier details of his touch. His nails grazing, his palm pushing into your skin to feel your ribs.

“Or maybe,” Macaque considered in a soft voice, “I have to make you beg for it.”

The tiniest whine made its way out your throat as he made soft nips at your neck, his teeth putting more pressure as he went down to your shoulder then collarbone. His leg pressed between your legs and rubbing against you to get a sound out.

“Someone might see,” you strained to protest. A soft squeak making an escape when Macaque grabbed you by the thighs to lift you up.

“Then they’ll get a good show,” Macaque replied, now rubbing into you. Your arms and legs wrapping around him for support but also to feel more of Macaque, forehead pressing into his shoulder so he wouldn’t see your lewd expression.

The stimulation was making your mind fuzzy, you didn’t make any noise but your breaths were heavy and burning hot. The second you let a soft moan leave you, Macaque stopped.

“No...” you told him in a weak voice, a fist softly punching his shoulder so he would keep going on.

You hated how needy you sounded but you were desperate.

“Better make it home if you want more,” Macaque told you as he pulled you off. Giving one last kiss before making off with your stuff and leaving you in the alley with weak legs on the verge of giving out.

“Macaque!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where this plot goes, no one knows. Not even me, so feel free to throw in ideas before something gets set into place.


	8. Ire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Macaque is a piece of work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, work week is about to start so I gotta sleep now!

Your fingertips gripped the cemented spaces between the bricks, teeth gritted as you struggled to pull yourself up against the wall, your legs wanting to give out from the overbearing warmth that pooled in your abdomen because that stupid monkey. A free hand went across your face, the skin burning hot like your anger. With a deep breath, you heaved yourself up, legs regaining strength while finding your footing.

“I’m gonna kill him,” you murmured to yourself. Taking one step at a time so your legs wouldn’t buckle from the weight that you still felt below your stomach.

With every step, you felt that neediness for Macaque die down. You cracked your knuckles as you gained strength and speed, almost going into a sprint when you hit the dirt path that would lead you home.

You practically slammed your door shut when you got home. Face bright red from the running and lingering anger.

“Macaque!” You shouted, the sound of your voice echoing throughout your small home.

You glare at the empty rooms until you saw Macaque lying on your bed, flipping through another book.

“You need something?” Macaque asked with a smug smile, his eyes still locked on the page until he took the time to glance up.

A twitch went across your face as you made quick strides to your bed. “Just shut up.”

You unzipped your jacket and almost jumped onto your bed then practically sat on top of Macaque’s lap and snatched the book out of his hand.

“Desperation is a good look on you,” Macaque commented as you were about to peel off your shirt.

You stopped at your stomach from that then let go to let it fall back down, your hands went to grab at the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. “Would it kill you to be quiet for once?”

His smile didn’t waver at all, it only grew to the point his fangs bared. His hand pressing softly against your cheek, as if he didn’t overwhelm your nerves to the point of screaming earlier.

Another twitch came from your face, you quickly pushed his hand away then pulled the demon monkey closer and placed your lips on top his own. It was certainly one way to keep him quiet.

You could feel his smug smile against your skin, your face felt warmer now and you weren’t certain if it just came from the anger. When you pulled away to breathe, Macaque definitely had a flushed look to him.

None of that put a halt to his confidence though, but it almost looked like he was admiring your nearly bloodthirsty ire.

“I take it back,” Macaque spoke aloud. “This looks _much_ better on you.”

Both his hands went to grab your wrists to let him go, your tight fingers slowly let the fabric slip out. Macaque released his grip once you complied.

Why were you letting him control you? You were furious at the state he left you in! You couldn’t let him win with a meaningless compliment!

“Just shut up and let me have this,” you ordered, hands now gripping the hair on his head then press another harsh kiss against him.

You opened your mouth, telling him that you wanted him to do the same without having to say it. He made an occasional sound from you feeling the inside of his mouth with your tongue and nipping his bottom lip when you pulled away.

One of your hands let go of his hair, now snaking under his shirt and having it ride up thanks to your arm. Part of you was honestly tempted to rip it right off of him but you didn’t want to waste money on getting him new clothes.

When you managed to get the shirt over his head and off him, you went straight for Macaque’s neck to place at least one dark bruise like he had done to you. The only sounds Macaque made could be compared to huffs and you were honestly disappointed.

You pulled away to see a soft red and purple mark on Macaque’s brown skin then glanced to see him still holding composure. You made it clear that this left you annoyed by your expression alone.

Macaque let out a small chuckle. “What? I thought you wanted me to shut up.”

“I wanted you to stop talking because you seem to love the sound of your own voice,” you clarified.

His hand went to cup your cheek, his thumb rubbing just below your eye.

“I know you must like something about it with the look you gave,” Macaque pointed out, that stupid smirk coming back.

Your brow furrowed and your stare only grew more intense, not wanting to admit that detail you went to pull Macaque back. He didn’t budge, his eyes focused on the bite mark he left on your shoulder and how the bruises went to paint the edge of your neck.

“They look good on you,” Macaque commented, his hand leaving your cheek and pressing into the bruises to get a sound out. You said nothing to that, only scoot closer on his lap and inch closer to his face.

“What’s your angle in all this? With me?”

“Can’t I have someone to spend my time with? Not just anyone has the confidence to talk back to a demon and live to tell about it,” Macaque answered. “You’re a bit of spitfire, and honestly, I like that.”

You could feel your eyebrows unknit just a bit, Macaque’s smile no longer cocky but still there.

“That anger you have, unyielding determination if you want to call it that,” Macaque continued. “It’s nice to see someone fight back even if they know they can’t win.”

His hands cupped your face as he sat up and over you, his gold eyes staring deep into your own. The tips of your fingers brushed the back of his hands, not to push them away but to simply touch him.

“But it’s still good to see you know when to comply,” he noted, seeing the red that seem to spread across your face like a wildfire. His smile grew in what could be considered frightening but you couldn’t find it in you to be afraid.

You could feel yourself smile back at him, something much softer than how he bared his fangs or eyes locked on your form.

“Well,” Macaque said in a softer voice. “Aren’t you pretty?”

And with that, he pushed you down and into the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not joking when I say to throw in ideas, I am writing at the seat of my pants here.


	9. Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys even like about this fic?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so bad news and good news  
> The bad news  
> Content Warning: Choking  
> The good news  
> Aftercare

Your lungs were on fire, tears streaked your face. Macaque’s hands wrapped around your neck and cutting off all your air. Your fingers curled at his wrists but you couldn’t even press the softest dent in his skin.

You wanted to scream for him to stop and let go but nothing came out.

Darkness rushed from the edges of your vision, closing in on Macaque to be last thing you'd ever see. The remaining fragments of your strength siphoned out under Macaque’s grasp, your head ready to loll back and let your mind turn to nothing then leave your body empty.

Air rushed into your lungs, ripping you back to the land of the living.

Soon it was too much and pulled you into a coughing fit.

You rolled to your side, hand at your collarbone as if to protect your neck.

Another gasp for air followed by a dry heave.

Eyes shut tight as hot tears stained your skin. Lip almost curling into your mouth to cover a sob.

In time you could finally push yourself up, the back of your hand wiping away the salty water on your face. Another cough before you could finally feel the world around you become stable.

A hand pressed against your back, giving a few pats to it.

You turned to see Macaque with his arm coming back from giving you a terrible attempt at comfort. His tail practically still, his eyes locked on your probably discolored face.

“Seriously?” you questioned, tone practically laced with contempt.

Macaque looked confused, maybe even a bit annoyed, almost if this was an inconvenience. “What do you want me to do then?”

You struggled with taking in another breath, going slow but still trying to get as much air as you could. “Can you get me a towel, maybe some water too? I think I still have some bandages left in the bathroom.”

Macaque quickly got off the bed, you were honestly surprised with how fast he was. The monkey came back not even a minute after and plopped all you asked for onto the bed.

You mumbled your thanks, grabbing the bottle and quick to uncap it then taking an experimental sip. The cold water almost made you cough but you managed to keep it down.

Macaque seemed to tense from your sudden movement, his tail stiff and eyes locked on as you grabbed the towel and poured water onto it. Wet fabric pressed against your neck and cooled the hot skin, trying to soothe any marks that could have been left on it.

You didn’t say anything as you cleaned yourself up then wrap the towel over your shoulders to bring in some coverage for your exposed self.

"Anything else?" Macaque asked, sitting down next to you with his legs crisscross on the bed.

“I, uh,” you mumbled as a thought popped into your head. It definitely fit in the realms of aftercare. “You could hold me, if you want.”

Macaque rolled his eyes with a soft scoff, despite that you felt him pick you up and placed you on his lap. His chin rested on top of your head as he pulled you close against his chest with his arms. Your stained face pressed against the dark fur on his chest, it was so soft and warm.

So different from the tight grasp he had around your neck.

Macaque spoke your name before he continued on. “I-”

“No.”

You didn’t want to talk at all, just take in the quiet and calm your mind.

“But-”

“No!”

“Let me fin-”

“Shut up,” you told him, burying your face in his fur despite the anger. “You almost choked me to death!”

You could feel tears trying to make their way back and prick your eyes, the muscles in your throat tightening from the words themselves.

The Six Eared Macaque kept quiet, his fingers rubbing small circles on your arms while his tail curled over you. Right now you just wanted to breathe and forget what happened.

“I’m sorry...”

Macaque’s words forced you back to the world.

“You’re what now?”

Macaque didn’t answer, all that could be heard was a deep breath that brought a rise and fall to his chest. The small motions he made with his hands came to a halt, his tail still making a slight sway in the silence.

“Sorry.”

You couldn’t answer. You knew you weren’t going to say it was okay. It wasn’t and you didn’t want to talk about it right this moment. Maybe later, when everything finally felt more grounded.

“Can we just,” you didn’t know what to add. “I just want to stay like this for right now.”

“Later then?”

“Sure,” you answered, just burying your face in his chest.

His arms around you tightened, one hand now at the top of your head and brushing the hair between his fingers. The soft sensation feeling so nice and almost lulling you to sleep.

“Anything else?” Macaque asked another minute later, his voice almost empty of any feeling. As if asking if you wanted a glass of water.

You shook your head. “This is fine, I just want to sleep really.”

“Do you want to lie down?”

You hummed, sort of agreeing but not really caring either way. Macaque took that as a sign to let his body fall back against the bed while keeping his hold. The monkey demon's tail pulled the blanket over both of you.

Part of you wanted to look up at him and see whatever face he was making, get some idea of what he was thinking. The other didn’t, wanting to separate this almost protective warmth as far as possible from the very thing that cause the pain you felt. All you let yourself do was listen to the heart beat against his chest.

The concept of safe words popped into your head, that could be brought up later though. If a later ever came really. Either way, it was stupid you didn't discuss it in any sense honestly. What's done is done.

“Hey Macaque,” you softly called out to him.

He made a hum, loud enough to tell you he was listening.

“I don’t hate you.”

No, just what he did, but it seemed like even he didn’t like it either.

You weren’t certain if his heart seemed to slow from that, or that his hand on your head became the slightest bit softer.

Right now, sleep was all you wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting late, bleh.


	10. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sure, it's uncomfortable but something needs to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who has overtime? This guy!

When you woke up, you still felt tired, the kind where you’d check the clock for the time and fall right back asleep if it was early enough. You couldn’t do that right now, just blink and look at the furry chest in front of you. It took a moment for you to process that Macaque was still keeping you in his hold.

Realizing that got you wide awake, you blink again before trying to pull away. Macaque’s nails lightly grazed your skin, the back of your mind screaming to get away. You took a slow breath as you finally managed to leave his grasp and get off the bed then make your way to the bathroom.

Lights on and staring back at yourself, your hand went to your collarbone, just below your neck and stared at the handprints on it.

Bruises decorated your shoulders and collarbone, shame crept at the notice but you brushed it aside. That didn’t matter right now.

Tentatively, your fingertips touched the discolored skin on your neck. It didn’t hurt unless you pressed in hard. They didn’t look too bad, definitely not something you wanted anyone seeing but they should be gone in a few days, less than a week at least. It could easily be covered with a scarf or a turtleneck, maybe if you pulled the hood up on your jacket too.

Not now obviously, you were just straight up naked. Clothes, definitely needed those soon. Maybe after a shower.

You used a towel to wipe off the steamed mirror, there was definitely a healthier look to your skin, the bruises were still noticeable though. Hair and skin were dry now, just needed some clothes. You hoped Macaque didn’t wake up to the sound of running water.

The door opened a crack, you peeked to see Macaque was still in the same position you left him. A sigh of relief left from that, you quickly went to your closet and grabbed some clothes.

Only after getting pants and a shirt on did you hear Macaque groan. Your fingers tightly clung to the jacket in your hands as the blankets began to move with the demon. The hair on the back of your neck stood on ends, you grabbed your socks and shoes then shut the door behind once you got out.

Right now you just wanted to be alone, maybe for the next few hours, maybe even days. Kind of hard since he was basically living here rent free. You could avoid him if you tried, lessen any interaction with the demon at the very least.

Short sentences when needed, minuscule glances if unavoidable, no touch whatsoever.

Lounging on your couch, body stretched over the cushions and a blanket covering up to your torso. Your eyes were locked on your game console, focused on the task at hand and blocking everything out.

“Whatcha got there?” a voice asked, a soft breath brushing the shell of your ear and send a chill up your spine. You held your breath to keep calm and let the nerves pass.

“Unruly Heroes,” you answered. “It’s a game.”

You just heard a hum from the macaque, he definitely caught on that you were avoiding him. It honestly surprised you that he kept his distance, at the beginning at least. “Is it fun?”

He started to push boundaries, asking more questions that needed answers and tried to keep conversations going, getting in your way so you would have to look him in the eye. You could deal with those though.

“Has to be if I’m still playing,” you told him.

His reflection stared at you, not the game. His eyes glanced at the scarf wrapped around your neck, a little curious on how it looked.

“You doing alright?” the demon questioned.

“At the game or...?”

“I meant you,” he specified, his palm pressed down on your head and ruffled the hair on top.

You sat up, moved away from him and shot back a glare. Your voice came out stern, an almost poisonous tone laced in it. “Don’t touch me.”

Macaque let out a huff of air at that. “You’re _still_ mad? I said I was sorry.”

You looked away, going back to your game after bringing the blanket over you as a barrier. “Sorry doesn’t cut it.”

“Alright, then what do you want?” the annoyance in his tone was easy to pick up, he ripped the blanket off you and had it firmly in his grasp. His glare ripping your focus from the game onto him as he sat across from you on the couch.

“How about you leave me alone?”

“Pick something else,” he told you, grabbing one of your wrists and pulling it away from your console. “I’ve done that already and you’ve just been getting worse.”

You kicked at him, foot hitting his stomach but he acted like it was nothing. He brought himself closer, your mind started screaming. “Let go of me!”

“Tell me what’s wrong!”

“You hurt me!” You cried out, your eyes shut so you wouldn’t have to look at him. “I thought you were going to kill me!”

You still kicked at him but no sound came out. His grip on your wrist moved up, the pad of his thumb pressed into your palm, the nail digging into the skin. His touch felt like it was burning hot, all you wanted was for it to be gone.

You could feel he was closer, that his yellow eyes were locked on your scared expression, his other hand gripping your opposite forearm to hold you in place.

“You knew _exactly_ what you were getting into,” Macaque claimed. “You _knew_ I was a demon and you still healed me, you _knew_ who I was and didn’t even try to get me to leave.”

You kept trying to kick him away despite knowing it wasn’t going to work.

“That doesn’t change anything! You hurt me!” you screamed, tears finally leaving and a sob clogging your throat. “I trusted you and you still hurt me!”

His grip loosened at that, his hand stopped pressing your arm down. You pulled the limb away and retracted it to your body, the rest soon curling up to make your form smaller.

Macaque picked you up, you were frozen despite how you fought not even moments ago. He placed you on his lap, just like he did a few nights back. His hand combed through your hair, fingers picking to make you think he may have actually been grooming for a bug. He made small huffs, clearly annoyed but kept at it.

“What do I have to do to make you finally ease up?” Macaque asked. “If I didn’t- Do we need to talk about this or something? Like, actually talk about it?”

His touch was gentle again, it still gave you goose bumps but it didn’t make you want to run for the hills.

“If you didn’t what?” you asked, wondering where that sentence was going.

“Focus,” he almost snapped. His fingers stopped brushing your hair and his arms wrapped around you to keep you in place, almost no way to escape. “What do we need to get out of the way?”

You mumbled as you brought your hand up and pressed against his sleeve, feeling the fur just above the skin under all the fabric. It took some time but you slowly brought out what you felt. The words choked you on occasion, sobs made you curl into yourself. Macaque didn’t comment on that though, he sat and listened, spoke when it was his turn.

Your idle hands managed to get on your console eventually, it took awhile before you actually started messing with your game again. Macaque placed his chin on your shoulder while watching you play. The conversation was long done with being about what had happened and what you felt, things weren’t immediately better but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

“Hey,” Macaque started out with. “Does this game have two-player?”

“Give me a sec,” you answered, finishing the level then going to the main menu to change the setting so he could join in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, who wants to guess what Macaque was going to say?


	11. Pathetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief change of pace!

Why did it matter?

Macaque’s fist stopped, barely an inch away from making contact with the wooden trunk, the wind that followed his attack ripped layers of bark off the tree.

Why did it matter if you were hurt?

The staff formed in his palm, one end falling to the ground but soon pulled back by spinning his wrist. The weapon traveling up his arm, at his shoulder, then end in his opposite hand.

It shouldn’t matter.

He practiced a series of blocks before going for an attack of jabs and swings. The wind followed, snapping off the branches of nearby trees.

It didn’t matter.

He grit his teeth in a scowl, legs bent then soon his feet were off the ground. Both hands on the staff, one end aimed at a giant stone that was buried halfway.

You didn’t matter.

A crack upon impact, it spread and took over the rock. The force, no, the sound itself shook the area around. The boulder turned to pebbles. Dirt drifted in the wind, clouds of dust hiding the world around him.

Then why did he let go?

The staff in his hand melted back into the shadows. This was enough training for the moment, right now his thoughts went elsewhere.

He could have snapped your neck, ending everything instead of choke it out.

Cold air filled his lungs, smothering the heat of his frustration, steam left his mouth and nose then dissipated into the dark night.

The twitch his fingers made against your skin when he felt your pulse grow weak, then releasing and allowing you to breathe once more after.

His tail hit the ground, soon curling to create a base for him to sit. His legs crossed over one another in the air, elbow on his lap as his hand kept his head propped.

Both the pain and anger that filled your voice and painted your expression. Betrayal over what he did despite awareness of him being a literal demon.

His brow furrowed at remembering it, the state he put you in and how you acted after.

But not hatred.

His fingers curled at his mouth, the fact that you still told him that despite it all. Why did hearing that ease his spirit?

The soft smile that came across your face on occasion, a spark in your eyes that would ignite when angered or interested, tender touches that would press against his skin then the warmth which followed.

The monkey’s eyes widened at the mental image, his scowl bared fangs, the free hand at his side curled into a tight fist.

Weakness, that’s what you were!

He stood back up, tail twitching with each thought that trailed back to you. Feet kicking away stones that were in his path, making his return to the small house you called home.

He had let himself enjoy the commodities and comforts that you provided, almost spoiled with how quaint it was.

Macaque paused, ears twitching by hearing the sound of his name being called out from the distance. Your voice letting the world know that you awaited the Six Eared Macaque, a demon, a being that rivaled the Monkey King, someone that had no real reason to stay, to come back into your home and be a part of his company.

Something pulled, urged him to rush to that sound. To return to the soft smile, bright eyes, and warm touch.

His feet dug into the ground, refusing to move. A deep breath to clear his mind but your image seemed to be seared in it.

Why?

Anger bubbled, his breath came out in white wisps between his teeth, claws digging into his palms so the sensation would keep him grounded.

Why?

His staff returned to his hand, fingers gripping it then bringing the weapon to a full swing with a yell. Trees ripped in half, rocks flying in the air and crashing back down. Animals scurried, running away from the damage he caused.

Why did he care?

His ears twitched again, noticing your voice had ceased calling for him. He turned to it this time, almost letting himself wonder why you stopped.

Out of so many humans in the world, why did you keep his attention? Billions were out there but why now did he meet a human that he didn’t see a reason to use for an ulterior motive or just in general?

Even though he couldn’t see your home, he knew where it was. If you chose to speak again, he would know exactly where you were.

You healed him and let him stay, that in itself was something of use but he didn’t expand on it. You even treated him like a friend in a few ways; meals, conversation, sometimes comfortable silence. Surely he could leave and come back whenever he liked. (Or if he had another mishap like before.)

A huff of air left him. The staff disappeared once more. There was no use in delaying the inevitable, Macaque thought to himself. Now resuming his trek to your home.

Was it the attitude? The affection? A combination of the two? It shouldn’t matter anymore with how he ruined the idea of more occurring between the both of you.

Twigs snapped under his feet, the crunch of dirt following with each step. Heartbeats of different animals could be heard in all six ears, tiny voices filling the area with cries and calls.

_“The old you would have leveled this whole mountain range to stop me, but you’re scared of hurting some kid? Pathetic!”_

He paused, only for a moment before continuing forward. He had said that to Sun Wukong, and now he was no better than the Monkey King.

No, this was different. It had to be.

He could hear his name being mumbled under your breath as he was within a stone’s throw of your home. It sounded like you were talking to yourself on what you wanted to say to the Six Eared Macaque.

This wasn’t eavesdropping if you happened to talk so loud.

“Ground rules,” you muttered. “Nothing too serious but it would help. Like, I don’t know, keep a bit of distance before getting close. Not that I didn’t like- No, that’s not right.”

A light laugh left him and a smirk etched his face as he heard you fluster over the imaginary conversation. Cute, he could almost call it cute, that the idea of talking to him brought a different type of anxiety out.

Macaque entered your home, you looked at him in surprise that he came back much sooner than you would have thought. A smile almost came across but you looked away from him, somewhat worried he may have heard you talking to yourself.

“Doing alright?” Macaque asked, his tail flicked about before shutting the door behind him.

“Uh, yeah,” you answered, your hand went for your neck but stopped as you felt the scarf around it. “I have some food ready but if you don’t want it there’s other stuff.”

The Six Eared Macaque came closer, you could see him out the corner of your eye. He looked relaxed, maybe he burned off enough pent up energy to stay like that for the rest of the night.

“There something you wanted to tell me?” he questioned, stopping a few feet away and giving you space.

Your mouth turned to a thin line at that. You looked up to see his form had three pairs of ears. “You heard?”

“Your voice kind of carries...” The monkey confirmed, the edge of his mouth almost forming a smile.

“Just,” you didn’t exactly have what you wanted to say, that's why you were practicing. You let out a sigh. “Can you, warn me, if you want to get close or something? Just tell me before you try anything?”

“Why would I want to get close?” Macaque asked you.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled, a little annoyed he would say that. “You kind of make it a habit to get in my space.”

“So all I have to do is tell you that I’m here or something?”

“Kind of,” you answered. “I mean, be clear on what you want, like food, someone to talk to, that kind of stuff.”

“What if it’s something else?”

He took a step closer, your blood felt cold.

No sound made its way out. Your eyes locked on the floor and chose not to look up. He stopped with only a couple inches to spare. You could hear your breathing and nothing else.

You struggled to speak, only when you literally gulped down your nerves could you answer. “What do you mean by that?”

“Calm down, it’s nothing serious.” His palm pressed against the top of your head, giving a soft comb through the hair before having it go to your cheek. The pad of his thumb gently rubbing against the warm skin for a moment then pulling away. “You alright with that?”

You gave a small nod, it could have been dismissed as a twitch if you didn’t pair it with a “yes.”

A soft huff was heard from him, like he was amused by this.

“If _you_ want anything, feel free to tell me,” Macaque told you.

With that, the monkey demon left with one of the plates and went to eat who knows where.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I may go on hiatus with both the Macaque and Monkey King fic but I don't know. Just been in a bad head space and work making me do some much overtime didn't help. Maybe the chapters will be longer if I give myself more time on them. IDK, what do you guys think?


	12. Mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had a different name for this chapter in mind, but I am lazy and don't want to write a chapter that long, so it'll be called that in the next chapter.

Up until now, you didn’t realize just how much you missed attending the night market, its intoxicating aroma that filled the air, the warm glow of the lanterns which were hung above shops, so many flavors both comforting and unfamiliar which would cover your tongue. Only when it was right in front of you that you remembered how much you enjoyed spending the night there.

A sigh was all that came out, spending any amount of time at the market would get expensive if you didn’t keep a close eye on your wallet. It was all too easy to get caught up in. Plus, Macaque’s appetite was huge, who knew how much he could gobble up and burn through your cash with this kind of buffet in his grasp.

Wait, why were you even thinking of bringing him along?

Sure, you didn’t exactly hate him, but he put you on edge when he was around for obvious reasons. He had apologized and gave you some space, even humored you enough to actually agree to even tell you when he was within arm’s reach.

Maybe inviting him could end up leading to a fun time? Nothing serious, but it’d be nice to enjoy his company once more.

As you began to make your way home, passing through the sweet and savory smells, one of the stands caught your eye. Bold colorful clothes draped over tables and hung on the walls of a humble stand, you were tempted to take a closer look at them since it did manage to put your steps to a brief halt.

You shook the thought out. Maybe later.

A tuft of raven hair could be seen just over the edge of the roof of your home.

“Macaque?” You called out, a little curious on what he was doing up there.

The monkey demon shifted from his spot before looking over the edge, one hand lazily draped over the last of the tiles while the other propped his head in place. “What?”

His tone sounded tired, the bored expression across his face added to it.

“Are you doing alright?”

“I’m fine.” After a quick yawn, he jumped off the tiled roof and landed only a couple of feet in front of you. “Do you need something?”

You shook your head. “No, just wondering.”

Macaque’s expression was fixed on annoyed by that, eyes locked on you for a moment more. Something caught his attention, his ears twitched and soon looked passed you to stare at the town that wasn’t too far behind. “What’s going on over there?”

You turned back despite knowing you wouldn’t be able to see or hear the crowd of people that were slowly filling the streets, only able to take in the brush of the forest and soft sounds of bugs and animals. “Oh, the town has this market thing every few weeks. Lot of walking, shopping, and eating...”

“So a night market?” Macaque figured, his tail swaying in interest while his face kept the stone expression.

“Yeah,” you answered, a hint of a smile on your face when you turned back to him. “They’re really fun. I always get a bit of sweet tooth when I’m there.”

“Sounds boring,” Macaque cut off.

“The food is actually the best part of the experience,” you told him, some annoyance laced in your tone. A glance at his tail shown that he was still attentive of what you had to say on it. “I was thinking of going tonight, I figured you’d want to try out some of the food there.”

Macaque’s tail paused mid-swing before a flick brought it back to a lax state. He stood up straight, hands on his hips as he looked back at you. “I guess it doesn’t sound that bad.”

You would have smiled at that had Macaque not started walking off and to the town up ahead.

“Whoa wait, what are you doing?!” Quickly grabbing his arm for him to stop, you let go not long after and brought your hand back to yourself.

“I’m going to the market. Isn’t that what you wanted to do?” Macaque questioned.

“Yeah but-!”

“But what?”

“You’re going to cause a panic if people see a demon walking around,” you quickly explained.

“So?”

“Can’t you shapeshift or something?”

The monkey rolled his eyes at that, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head to hide his ears as his tail wrapped around his waist like a belt. “Will this work?”

“Your face is still a giveaway,” you answered. A thought popped up and you searched through your bag to find something to help.

“I’ll just say I have a skin condition if anyone asks,” Macaque suggested.

“I got a better idea actually,” you told him, pulling out a face mask. “Uh, can I?”

You didn’t know how to word it properly, all you did was point at the black mask then at him.

Macaque looked a bit confused at that. “Fine, I guess.”

You stepped closer to him and brought the mask to his face, hands brushing the sides and the drawstrings hooking over his ears. You pulled the fabric over his nose for good measure and were caught off guard by the pattern that was on it, definitely forgetting what this mask had.

The mask was a basic black with white markings resembling a cat’s mouth. A smile barely managed to stifle a laugh but the puff in your cheeks was enough of a clue for the macaque to question you.

“What is it?” He asked, the furrow of his brow contrasting the cute kitten smile to a comical degree.

“It looks good on you.” The smile on your face growing a bit wider.

Macaque was quick to take the mask off then flip it to see what you were getting so giddy over. His face was mixed with disgust and disbelief. “This is ridiculous.”

“Well, it’s all I have on hand,” you told him. “Do you want to go or not?”

“Okay, but you definitely owe me for this,” Macaque said as he reapplied the mask over his mouth and nose.

“That's the plan,” you answered back, looking though your bag and double checking your wallet to see if there was more than enough cash to get through the night. “Just try not to bury me in debt when we get there.”

“No promises.”

You let out a huff from that as he started to walk to the town, you were quick to get to his side and make him see the almost childish scowl of your annoyance. His yellow eyes squinted back but his brow didn’t furrow, maybe if the mask hadn’t covered his mouth he would have, under the dark cloth hid a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cool, I'm not dead, but I do have work tomorrow so I will be soon. Anyway, I'm doing a bit better mentally since I'm slowly getting more comfortable in my new place. (Still have a bunch to move out though and it will take awhile since my living situation is a little complicated, but it's definitely progress.)  
> I also have something coming up for this fic so I'm not writing it blind which is good. Anyone want to make any guess what happens next?


	13. Market

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to LadyLunamoon for helping with the last couple chapters!

The walk you took with the demon back into town could almost be called pleasant, there was a comfortable silence for a good portion of it. In time, Macaque struck up a conversation to your surprise, it was simple questions about the food in the market and what you had in mind at first, then it turned to what else they had to offer. You paused in thought, soon answering that there was stuff like merchandise for the shops from clothes to containers to cheap toys. That one stand draped with many different colored fabrics popped back in your head.

You couldn’t help but glance at Macaque’s clothes after that, the yellow and black sleeves of his shirt were worn and the red base that matched his cloak and pants were all faded and had frays here and there. The only thing that didn’t look like it was hanging by a thread was the armor-like padding at his sides. The black sash was the only thing that didn’t look tattered but you did question where it ended and his tail began since it was wrapped around his waist.

Macaque caught you staring. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing, just lost my train of thought,” you dismissed.

Soon after the warm glow of lanterns grabbed your attention, the street filled with people as shops and stands at the edges were nearly bursting with powerful aromas, bold colors, and _interesting_ music choices. It didn’t take long to find food that caught your eye.

You grabbed at Macaque’s arm so he’d know to stop as you stared at a stand with tender white bulbs baking in a small oven, a sweet yet burnt aroma came when a platter of recently baked lilies rested on the stand behind the net that separated you from the chef. No time was wasted in buying a batch to share between you and the monkey demon then soon finding a spot where you could eat without anyone noticing the literal demon among them.

“What even is this?” Macaque asked as he peeled off a crispy yellow petal from the baked bulb. You were focused on how soft and delicate it was in your mouth before it practically melted and slid down your throat.

“Lily,” you answered before peeling another petal then popping it into your mouth. “Sweet, crunchy, kind of starchy.”

“Not much of a meal,” he commented as he began to munch on it.

“I thought it would be good to get a snack first,” you told him. “Kind of settle in with what there is before you try anything else.”

The demon kept quiet as you both continued to eat, part of you being tempted to ask if he was going to finish his share with how he took his time on it.

“Is there anything you want? Meat? Fruit? Veggies?” You thought aloud, a combination of any of those could probably be found. You finished the lily bulb and sucked the remaining flavor off your thumb.

“I could go for something with a little meat,” Macaque answered as he turned his head and stared out the narrow alley that lead to the rest of the market place. A few passersby coming into view before vanishing. “So, should I go for a chubby one or something on the leaner side?”

“Macaque, no,” you chide in an instant.

He smiled at you, his fangs clear as day even in the night. The monkey demon took a step closer then leaned in to meet at your eye level. He spoke in a soft voice, his tone relaxed and confident. “I know you taste good.”

You tense up from that, like an icicle had lodge itself into your spine and sent a chill throughout your body.

“How about you stay here while I grab us some food, okay?” It didn’t take long for you to leave and run off to find something that could help quell Macaque’s appetite. You stopped a step away from exiting the alley then shouted “I won’t be gone too long, give me 20 minutes tops!”

You were out of sight after that.

“And they’re gone...” the demon mumbled to himself. “Nice one, Macaque. Just peachy.”

He placed his hand at the back of his neck and gave a soft rub to the muscle underneath, a sigh left after. That was certainly a new record on how fast he could make a human run away.

Macaque frowned at the end of the alleyway as more people came and went. To say he didn't enjoy meat, let alone human flesh, would be a lie, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t joke about it. Though, it would make sense on why that comment would put you on edge.

The monkey groaned, he needed to fix this quick.

A comment you made earlier popped into his head. You mentioned that you had a bit of a sweet tooth at the market, maybe a small treat to share could work as an apology without having to deal with the mess of talking.

He needed to act fast, but this was an easy enough task.

Macaque melted into the shadows, his darkened form traversed from the wall to the ground then to the shifting crowd ahead. His silhouette moving to the different stands and searching for something that could meet your tastes.

He passed by the frozen treats knowing that they would lose their appeal from melting during the wait, drinks were messy to travel with in his non-corporeal form so that was a no.

He paused at a vendor pulling dragon's beard candy from a solid puck of sugar into threads thinner than hair within a couple of minutes. He almost considered grabbing a full tray of pieces filled with different types of nuts and candies wrapped around it, but chances are you would ask how he got such a large assortment with no cash on hand.

The scent of sesame and almond caught his attention, Macaque quickly went to it and soon found a platter of flaky pastries cooling on a rack. There were more, a lot more on the counter and wrapped in small paper bags to prevent messes.

This could work, Macaque thought to himself. His hand reaching out from the plastic countertop and quickly enveloping the sweet into the shadows then disappeared before the vendor could see his missing ware.

Soon Macaque was back in the alleyway, just where you told him to wait. He brought the sweet to his face, getting a better grasp of what it had. Winter melon, almond paste, sesame, and five spice powder, definitely smelled nice. He could even hear the thin crust of the pastry crack from his touch.

He soon placed the wrapped treat into his pocket as gently as he could. All that he could do now was wait for you to come back.

You lost track of how many huffs and groans were made on your little search for food, right now your mind was darting back and forth on what to get but also on that terrible attempt at a joke the demon monkey made. Part of you was a bit mad at yourself for the quick response of bolting away but it was too late to go back at this point, well, at least empty-handed.

In time you found yourself back at the stand with bold colored clothes and staring at a bright red shirt made of silk that was held in a wooden crate like it was common produce.

“Hello there,” a voice cooed at you and bringing you back to reality. “Something caught your eye?”

You looked up and were almost face to face with a woman dressed in a deep purple dress and a necklace adorned with a green jewel.

“Just browsing,” you answered, now glancing all around the stand then taking in the lanterns that hung over and practically painted her skin lavender.

“Are you looking for anything in particular? Got a project? Starting a hobby? Gift for someone?”

“Maybe the last one,” you mumbled.

The woman’s lips were a deep violet, her eyeshadow matched too. She smiled as you looked back at the shirt at the top of the pile. “You’re in luck. All you see here is the finest silk this side of the mountain, and all handmade.”

You would have questioned that claim considering that no one else was clamoring to her stand. You picked up the shirt in front of you, now noticing the rustic gold sleeves and lining it had. It felt like silk, looked like it too, but something about it seemed different. When your hands curled into the fabric and gave it a tug, it resisted, that was the only way you could describe it. (Maybe the fabric was mixed in with something but you couldn’t pick out a name to match.)

You were supposed to get food, but maybe Macaque would appreciate the gesture. If you bought this now, you could work with the leftover cash you had for the food later instead of the other way around.

You grabbed a golden sash and black pants after the shirt. “How much?”

The merchant held your purchase in a small paper bag, just before she handed them off to you she stopped. “I just remembered, I had something special for tonight. It’s in the back, follow me.”

Something about her tone made you listen, maybe that it seemed as smooth as honey or the confidence that you would follow was almost undeniable.

“Alright,” you answered as she backed away for you to follow. She practically vanished into the shadows but her voice was easy to hear.

“A little closer, _a little closer._ ”

You hesitated before taking another step, the ground gave in and you soon found yourself falling into the deep, dark unknown. All you could do was yell while the demon laughed at your helplessness.

The fading light of the night market up above was then sealed away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guess who's back?


	14. Escape

You woke up, blinking hard as your eyes tried adjusting to the darkness that surrounded everything. A sickly green glow came from the ground below. You shook your head with a groan then took a deep breath not that different from a yawn.

What even was this place?

Your body felt ridged, arms pressed against your sides and legs snapped together. You tried to move about and found yourself swinging side to side.

Tied up, why were you tied up and left hanging?

You were free from the shoulders up and tried to shimmy out of your binds but no luck.

“What even is this?” You groaned, moving about to see what was wrapped around you and keeping you in place. You swung back and forth as you yelled from the frustration of no progress.

“No need to cause such a ruckus,” a familiar voice called out to you.

A hand then grabbed your face, the digits curling at your chin to make your mouth purse while forcing you to gaze upon the owner. It was the merchant, but she looked different this time.

Her black hair was tied up into a helmet with spikes that made it resemble a spider, onyx armor plated over her violet dress but her jade necklace was placed over the only spot that showed skin. You weren’t able to look much further down but from what you did see, there was much more to her. Not in a skin deep way, but a very literal monstrous form she was stopping you from seeing.

“Who are you?” You couldn’t help but ask.

The demon looked unamused by your question.

“This is what I get for staying in the shadows,” she muttered under her breath. “I am the Spider Queen, Empress of Terror and Mistress of Horror!”

Her nails dug a little deeper into your skin, pressing your flesh against your bones with enough force to make you wince. Once she let go, you couldn’t help but take a strained breath.

“Not much of a castle you got here,” the comment spilled from your lips. Something soon slapped over your mouth and sealed it shut.

“You are quite the mouthy one,” the Spider Queen told you. Her green eyes practically glowing in anger. “Not that it matters. You’ll do either way.”

Your blood ran cold, a chilling breeze sapped all the warmth from your body. The demon held you by your chin and brought herself closer to you, she seemed to breathe in your fear as if it were her favorite scent.

“Oh, you’ll _definitely_ do.”

You began to flail in your web prison, trying to shake her off, or at least get her hands off. You tried to yell against the sticky silk that covered your mouth but it was only muffled.

“Feel free to tire yourself out,” she said with a chuckle. “I prefer my meat on the tender side.”

Even after she left you alone, you still struggled and hoped to slip out of the restraints. You could hear other voices, other people calling out for help.

You had no idea on how much time had passed. Half an hour? An hour? Who knew? All you did know was that you strained to keep moving, your scarf starting to feel like it was out to choke you, sick of feeling the heat and moisture of your own breath press against your face. Still, you continued to struggle against the webbing.

A scream rung throughout the web silken cave. The only question was wondering if this was a new victim or the end of an old one.

You tried to kick the spider silk from the inside and hope that would cause enough wear and tear to lead to your escape. Even if you could save yourself, could you help the others?

Something else soon caught your attention, a pair of glowing purple eyes stared at you. The shadow that embodied it didn’t look completely human, but definitely more than the Spider Queen. The figure then reached out from the stone wall it was on.

Panic took over, you wanted to get away but there was no means of doing so. The claws of the figure drew closer, all you could do was shut your eyes and wait for the strike.

Nothing came though, instead you felt the web ropes cut off your body and soon fell afterwards. You didn’t hit the ground, a pair of arms caught you before the impact.

“You lost?” the Six Eared Macaque asked.

“Macaque?!” You asked back, or you would have if webbing didn’t cover your mouth and muffle your voice. Your now free hands quickly went to pull off the final restraint on your face then repeat his name. “Macaque?! What are you doing here?”

“Saving you,” he answered with a hushed tone, instructing you to do that same. “We’re getting out of here now.”

Despite the relief of a familiar face, you scrambled out of his grasp and managed to land on your feet. “We can’t leave yet!”

“And why not?”

“Other people are here,” you explained. “Someone has to help them.”

Macaque’s expression made no change in his annoyance. “Doesn’t sound like my problem.”

“Macaque, please.” Your fingers curled into his sleeve when you reached out to him. “I don’t think I can do anything to help, but I know you can.”

The macaque said nothing to that, only gave a soft huff as his six ears and tail twitched. His shadow began to stretch then separate into several copies of himself. The main difference was that they seemed to be shrouded in darkness and had eyes that glowed purple.

“They’ll take care of it, we’re leaving now.”

Your hand was still clutching to his sleeve, the touch of the cloth reminding you of what you bought for him. Your fingers loosened then let go once you pulled away from him. “Actually, there’s something I need to find before we go.”

“What?” He was definitely annoyed.

“Listen, I’m not having my money go to waste, I’m getting what I paid for.”

“You want to risk your life for some useless junk?”

“Just help me get my stuff back and we can talk about it later.”

Macaque took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine,” Macaque muttered, agreeing to your dumb request.

His copies the detached themselves from his real shadow and went off into the recesses of the cave in search for others. Your line of sight following them until you could no longer distinguish them from the surrounding darkness.

“What are you looking for?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“It’s in a brown paper bag,” you told him, your hand went to your scarf to loosen its wrap around you and release all the heat that had been trapped, the color reminding you of the red silk that caught your eye.

“Taped shut?” Macaque questioned.

“Maybe,” you mumbled. “I didn’t get that good a look. You’ve seen it?”

“Aboveground,” he answered. “I wouldn’t put it past her to toss it aside when she caught you.”

You gave a small pout then shook your head. “You better not be lying to me.”

“Not like it matters.” The Six Eared Macaque picked you up and put you over his shoulder, you barely managed to hold back a yelp from the surprise.

“Put me down,” you whispered as he started moving. The demon’s steps echoed against the stone floor, soft clacks were barely covered by the sound of dripping water.

“Do you want out of here or not?” Macaque talked back. His grip on you loosened, enough for you to drop forward. Your arms quickly wrapped over his shoulders and around his neck for support. The back of your legs were now hooked over one of his arms as the other wrapped at your torso.

Your head practically buried into the crook of his neck to make sure you wouldn’t lose contact then answered with a small nod, enough for him to feel the movement.

A soft huff was heard from him, not long after the deafening sound of wind took over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I couldn't provide a Macaque vs Spider Queen fight, but there's a reason for that


	15. Appreciation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, this may be the longest chapter I ever wrote for a fic.

Macaque kept you in his grasp even after he jumped from tunnel walls to the surface and ripped the remains of the trapdoor from its hinges with a swift kick. You didn’t realize how humid the underground caves were until you sucked in a breath of fresh air that came from the world above. You pulled your head away from Macaque and turned to see both of you had returned to the Spider Queen’s stand.

The change from sickly green glowing and utter darkness to warm lanterns and soft moonlight hurt your eyes for a moment, blinking hard enough to feel tears about to prick them. The back of your wrist was quick to wipe at them before anything could come.

Macaque let his arm unhook from your legs, letting you back onto the ground with a bit of a wobble.

You took in another deep breath, looking around the floor for the bag that held your purchase. It didn’t take long, like Macaque had said, she simply tossed it aside. (And along with a pile of other paper bags. You made sure to check that this was your stuff and not someone else’s then quickly sealed it back up.)

“How long will it take for the others to get out?”

“‘Bout a couple minutes,” Macaque answered, glancing around the area before staring at the curtains that closed off the place from the rest of the night market. “We should leave soon though.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for them?” You couldn’t help but ask. You knew that they would probably shaken up from the experiences, maybe even traumatized since you had no idea what that scream you heard earlier was from.

“You think they’d want to see another demon waiting for them?” His six ears flicked into two after.

Admittedly, you didn’t think of it like that. All you gave to that was a frown then resigned with a sigh, pulling the bag close to your chest after.

“You’re not wrong there,” you confessed. “Did you still want to get food?”

A part of you was embarrassed to ask such a thing. Honestly, you were tired and wanted to go back home.

“Yeah, I can still go for a bite,” Macaque told you, pulling his hood back up then brought the mask you gave him over his face.

Dang it! But that was out on you.

“You good with pork buns?” You questioned. Those were filling, and it may have helped that they went for a decent price.

“Sure,” Macaque muttered. His claws picking at the edge of the curtain then taking a peek to the world outside. “Your treat, right?”

“Not like you can pay for anything,” you snarked.

It didn’t take long for you to get to his side and look out the opening he made. Nothing looked different, wasn’t surprising that the world didn’t stop from a few missing people. (Though people did have a habit on getting lost or caught up in everything at the night market.)

A shout came from behind both of you, emitting from the hole that lead to the Spider Queen’s domain. The voice didn’t belong to the demon though, it was filled with panic and confusion. Yells and demands of being let go were heard, annoyed grunts that didn’t sound too different from the Six Eared Macaque right beside you pricked your ears.

“Still want to stick around for the others?” Macaque said with a laugh, hearing the protests the human made loud and clear. “I’m sure they’d _love_ to chat.”

You didn’t answer with words, simply grabbed his wrist and rushed back out to the night market ahead. Absolutely done with whatever nonsense that came from that cavern.

You ate your steamed pork bun in silence, arms still wrapped around the paper bag and keeping it close. Macaque held a bag almost filled to the brim with buns. With how he was going at them, you figured they would barely make it to morning.

You let your sight focus on the white steam that was visible in the cold night air. This was certainly a night, is all you could really think. Meeting the Spider Queen and Macaque going out of his way to save you was going to make this something you would never forget, though that might end up being trauma.

“Macaque,” you finally spoke up. The monkey glanced at you, his mouth stuffed with white bread and pink meat. “What do you really look like?”

The monkey took a hard gulp of his food before answering. “I look like this but with six ears, you’ve seen them already.”

You gave a scowl at that as you took a small bite of your bun.

“Not what I meant,” you told him after swallowing. “That spider demon looked pretty human when I met her then looked a lot different later, how do I know you’re not hiding other stuff?”

“It’s nothing big,” Macaque dismissed. “I just prefer this look.”

“So you _are_ hiding something other than the ears,” you noted.

His tail twitched, almost flinched at realizing he worded his sentence wrong. You could only smile that you caught him on it. He gave a scowl right back at you for that.

“Can I see?” You asked, almost sounding like a child wanting to peek at a present.

“If I get to see what was so important in that bag you have, sure,” Macaque answered, certain you wanted to keep whatever was in your possession under wraps.

Part of you almost forgotten about it despite being so close to your chest, quickly you finished off the last of the bun in your hand. “Okay, it was for you anyway.”

The demon monkey stopped in his tracks at that, you took it as a chance to step in front of him and ready to hand the sealed paper bag to him.

“What?”

You smiled at the surprised look on his face, it was kind of cute to see something different from smug or annoyed. The bag now within his grasp and waiting for him.

“Well, take it,” you told him, watching his hands finally grab the package.

Macaque looked confused, his claws taking a moment to cut the tape and open the bag then peer inside. Soon, he pulled out the silk red shirt you bought. He dug in further then found the golden sash and the black pants.

“They’re clothes,” he stated the obvious.

“Yeah, I figured you’d want some new ones since you’re always wearing those,” you answered as your hand went to rub the back of your neck. “Not that they look bad or anything, just kind of worn.”

The confusion on his face turned stoic, his gaze going back to you after. Eyes locking on the nearly faded bruises and the remnants of his bite on your skin. “Why?”

A pout came about from that.

“Can’t I just do something nice?” you muttered then flipped the switch on the attitude. “Anyway, show me what you look like!”

Macaque’s expression kept the confusion until he blinked, smug confidence coming back as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You sure you want to see that? It’s not exactly pretty.”

All you did was give a quick nod, assured in your decision.

After a flick of his ears, the two turning into six, shadows seem to melt off his face and reveal a deep large scar over his right eyebrow. One of his yellow eyes on the same side soon clouded over, practically a milky white. Fur cut through by scars ran across where his neck connected to his torso, you were barely able to see it thanks to the cloak that covered him. (You could only guess there were more, one of the stories you read said that he was torn apart limb from limb by the Monkey King all those centuries ago. Not that you’d ask him for the confirmation.)

No change came from your expression from this, or at least not one of disgust or fright to his surprise.

Your hands reached out to him, grabbing the sides of his face then pulling him close to get a better look. Eyes wide in fascination on his true appearance, he basically looked the same but it definitely added to his looks.

The Six Eared Macaque stared back at you, confusion creeping in when a smile came across your lips.

“This is _incredible._ I can’t believe you were hiding this," you told him, tone filled with a small sense of awe. “The scar looks good on you honestly.”

His tail snapped at that, as if he had been literally shocked to hear something good about his appearance.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” you answered, hands now leaving the sides of his face.

Macaque soon had his form change back, hiding the clouded eye and six ears, the scar however stayed etched into his skin. Your smile widened to see he kept it on.

Quickly the demon started going through his pockets, pulling out something small and wrapped in parchment paper. “I just remembered, they were giving out free samples so I got something when you were gone.”

He peeled off paper to reveal a pastry then tore it apart to give you half.

You brought the flaky treat close to your face, the soft scent of winter melon, almond, and sesame taking over. The name of the treat soon popped up in your head after.

“You know what this is right?” You asked.

“Does it matter?” Macaque asked back then took a quick bite. “It’s food. You gonna eat your half or not?”

The demon monkey started walking back to your home after that, quickly you stuff the sweetheart cake into your mouth. The sweet melony flavor covering your tongue as a smile went across your face from his gesture. Soon you ran to his side, taking his hand in your own.

“Thanks by the way,” you told him once your mouth was no longer full. “For saving me _and_ the food.”

Macaque looked the other way, staring at the trees that surrounded everything. “Thanks for the clothes,” he answered back.

Cold and wet, on the stone floor laid a red scarf drenched from the stagnate water it settled in. A clawed hand reached out to it, picking it up with her sharp nails and brought it close. The scent of human reeked but there was another mixed in, dirty not unlike an animal. Demon, that was the only thing that would make sense on how her all meals were now missing in such little time.

Soon the soft fragrance of fruit like plums and mangos took over, she knew who this was and now she had more than half a mind to talk to the thief that stole her food.


	16. Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been over a couple weeks since I last updated this so it makes sense to go back to it.

One of the spikes at the end of Macaque’s staff tore through the dirt, magic etched into the earth once it became a complete circle and transformed into an invisible barrier for the home he occupied. That should be enough to keep out of harm’s way.

The sound of metal against earth could be heard not too far off, his ears twitched and fingers tightened around the staff. As much as he wanted to go for the attack head-on, he wasn’t certain if that was the best approach.

The demon monkey looked up at the sky, passed all the branches and leaves that brought shade from the burning sun and protection from the pouring rain, morning was making itself known but he didn’t expect you to wake up for another few hours. You did go through a lot last night.

He glanced down at the clothes you gave him, pinching the fabric between his fingers, not completely sure on how to feel about the gift. Obviously he didn’t turn it down but it made him feel warm even when the silk felt cool to the touch.

Macaque took in a deep breath before turning heel, shadow spreading out on the ground as he went to greet an unwelcomed guest.

In time, Macaque soon saw the Spider Queen, sitting on her mech like a throne, waiting for him with an annoyed expression on her face.

“I should have figured it was you,” she called out. “There a reason you stole my food?”

Macaque didn’t answer back, his tail swaying ever so slightly.

“If you only took one of them I would have let it go,” she told him then vanished with nothing but a breeze left behind.

The Six Eared Macaque could hear her steps, the gears that whirled in her mech, the angry blood that pumped her heart.

Even hearing it all coming and prepping a defense, the breath was still knocked out of him when the steel spider legs pressed all their weight on the staff against his chest.

“But you had to get full of yourself and take everything.”

“You think I have nothing better to do than steal from wannabe royalty?” Macaque laughed.

The Spider Queen’s glare practically burned with rage, teeth bared at the insolent comment. Leaning closer to reach out and grab the monkey’s face, hopefully scaring it in the process.

Then she noticed the clothes that he was now wearing, made of her own silk no less. The anger left, a smile grew in place of the scowl.

“So that’s why,” she said after.

The sudden confusion on Macaque’s face almost made her laugh.

“I never took you as the type to keep a pet,” she mused, lips curling as the confusion turned to alarm. “Or would it be the other way around?”

Both his legs bent then went up, kicking the mech’s underbelly and threw it back with more than enough force. Trees snapped and crashed into the ground, the Spider Queen still landing on her many feet despite it all.

A smirk came across the Spider Queen’s face from that. “Did I touch a nerve there?”

The monkey demon said nothing, only rushed forward. Staff now in both hands and ready to strike with full force.

Her smirk turned into a vicious fang-filled smile once she jumped into the air, webs shooting out of her mech and capturing Macaque in silk ropes stronger than steel.

The metal limbs soon pinning him down, ready to crack his ribs at any moment.

“How did you know I was here?” Macaque snarled, the weight of the mech pushed into him more to stop the misbehavior.

“Wasn’t too hard,” She answered with a pleased tone. “But you’d be surprised how strong the scent of human is on you. Well, almost...”

A twitch came across his face from that.

“I heard that you went missing after that whole battle with the Monkie Kid,” the spider demon went on as she leaned forward. “Word is that your own power was sealed away and that’s why you’re too scared for a rematch.”

He gave no answer, not wanting to feed the possibility any form of acknowledgement.

“Did you get jealous of the Monkey King and want a student of your own?” She taunted. “I wouldn’t put it past a cheap imitation like you. Even the Monkie Kid is closer to the real deal than you’d ever be.”

His scowl grew, fangs becoming more prominent.

“I wonder what that human tastes like,” she thought out loud.

“Don’t you-!”

“Quiet!” She snapped back.

The webs that wrapped around him now crackled with energy. Pure lightning seemed to be shot through Macaque’s veins, a scream ripped out of him then was followed by heavy pants when it came to a halt.

“Unlike you, I’ve actually started thinking up new ways on rising back to the top,” a light lick of her lips came at seeing him grow weak. “And I think you’d make a great stepping stone. The human will make a better snack along the way.”

Another wave of electricity, this time stronger than the last, his scream masking every sound until bold violet light burst out of him and left nothing behind.

The Spider Queen’s eyes went wide at the sight.

A shout came from behind.

“Don’t you touch them!”

The end of his staff aimed at the spider demon, a rage filled yell making her turn.

Her surprise turning back into a smile as the mechanical limbs prepped in a defensive position, taking the brunt of the attack with the strongest part of the steel legs.

Soon the Spider Queen pushed him back, sending him into the trees then rushing forward to follow. Her silk webs while not enveloping him completely did manage to snag his leg and forced him back down to the earth.

She pinned him down, the sharp tips of her mech’s limbs digging into his new threads as the metal cephalothorax nearly crushed his legs.

Macaque yelled, his arms trying to rip away from the legs but the fabric wouldn’t tear.

“Easy there, Six Ears,” the Queen told him in a calm, but worn voice. “I’ve already changed my mind about your pet.”

He held back a growl, his scowl hiding none of his annoyance.

“How about we work something out?” She went on. “You get me just one human and I’ll stay out of your mangy fur, won’t even look in your direction.”

A twitch came across his face from that, mouth stayed shut to hear what else the Spider Queen wanted.

“Think you can do that?”

“Why should I?”

“I doubt you can keep them locked up in that shack forever,” she answered.

She wasn’t wrong.

His tail flicked in consideration despite the hostile expression.

“Just one?”

The Spider Queen gave a smile that was both sinister and sweet. “I have someone specific in mind. I don’t even plan on eating him, as long as he does what I say.”

“Anything else?”

“For you or me?”

“What do you think?”

She did a quick once over of his form, jade eyes locking in on the clothes that you had bought him, and as a gift no less. “I’ll let you keep this scrap of land when the world is mine, just keep your pet in place and you have nothing to worry about. That sound good to you?”

His scowl turned into a smirk. “I can work with that,” Macaque answered.

The mech lightened its load on the monkey demon, giving him space to stand soon after.

“Good. Be back here by night,” she ordered. “We’ll talk details then.”

Macaque only gave a small nod, enough to get the message across.

Both demons vanished, almost without a sound, only a harsh breeze to follow them their respective ways.

Macaque finally let the staff in his hand vanish when his feet came into contact with the porch steps, door opening to your home and taking in the soft warmth that came with it. He saw you asleep on the couch, head on the armrest while curled into a ball with the blanket that he usually used.

A light breath left the monkey as he glanced at the empty side of the couch, the space he stayed all night. This was probably the closet you let him be these past few days. Not counting when you took his hand in your own.

He reached out to you, stopping just before his palm made contact with the top of your head then pulled back. No, that would be pushing it.

A soft groan left as you began to wake, hard blinks at your surroundings before finding yourself focused on Macaque.

“Sleep well?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you mumbled, hand rubbing the sleep from your eyes. “Anything happen while I was asleep?”

“Nope,” Macaque told you. “Didn’t see anyone here, unless you count birds and mice.”

You hummed, letting him know you heard him.

“You hungry or something?” You asked, starting to stretch as a means to wake up. “I feel like leftovers.”

“Yeah, I can go for a bite,” he answered, watching you get off the couch and make your way to the kitchen.

His gaze went to the window that lead to the rest of the woods for only a moment before turning back to follow you.


	17. Away

You looked through the fridge, immediately drawing a blank on what you wanted to eat as soon as the options came up.

“Was there anything you wanted?” You ask Macaque as he sat on the counter, maybe it could give you an idea on what you might want.

“I’m fine with noodles,” he answered. That sounded alright, you silently agreed as you grabbed the tupperware filled with it and took it out.

It didn’t take long for the food to get ready, both of you enjoying the meal in a comfortable silence.

“So,” you started out with as you finished the last of your food. “Is she still out there?”

Macaque only raised an eyebrow at that.

“That spider demon from last night,” you clarified.

“You got nothing to worry about,” he brushed off. “I put up a barrier so that way no demons can get in.”

You only pout as he dodged the question. “Okay, but I wanna know if that spider demon is still in town.”

“Doubt it,” he answered. “If a demon stays in one place too long it’s going to draw attention.”

“You’ve been here for a few months though,” you jabbed, a smile on your face as you said that.

“Yeah,” he admitted as he slurped the last of his food. “But I remember you saying that I was your roommate.”

“Pay rent then,” you told him. “Or at least clean up after yourself.”

“Me keeping guard isn’t enough for you?”

“You just started,” you laughed. “How about you get your own food or something for a change?”

“I mean, I guess I can do that,” he considered, but it still sounded like a chore to him.

“The food or the cleaning up after yourself?”

“I’ll let you figure that one out.”

You let out a soft huff at that, a smile still on your face despite it all. “Whatever...”

You extended your hand out to him, waiting for him to hand over the bowl he was finished using.

“There was actually something I wanted to tell you,” Macaque spoke after a couple moments of silence passed of you putting the dishwasher to use.

“Yeah?” You responded, drying your hands off with a small towel.

“I’m gonna be gone for a bit.”

Something about that snapped your neck up to look at him scoot off the counter top then stand in front of you, shock easy to read on your face.

“How long?”

“Not sure,” he answered as he looked at the front door, his tail swaying just a bit faster than it usually did. “A couple days maybe.”

“Do you plan on coming back?”

Macaque’s expression looked distant, taking in the words for the moment before glancing back at you.

“Do _you_ want me to come back?”

“Of course,” you tell him with no hesitation.

And something about that makes his mouth hang open just the slightest.

“So when are you leaving?” you then ask.

“Tonight actually.”

“You are _really_ giving me a short notice on this, ya know.”

Macaque let out a light laugh from that. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you might miss me.”

You didn’t answer to that, at least not verbally.

It was brief, your arms wrapped around his midsection and face buried into his chest. Your fingers curled into the back of his shirt as you keep the memory of the warmth that you felt. Then it was over, you pulled away with a smile for the Six Eared Macaque.

“Just get back safe,” you told him. “Okay?”

“Didn’t have anything else planned.” He held back the urge to reach out and press his palm against the top of your head then give the hair a soft brush. “I don’t need you fixing me up a second time,” he joked.

He wished he knew it was coming and actually get to enjoy the brief affection.

“I’m not gonna leave for few more hours, how about you save the hugs for later?” He chuckled.

“Well sorry for caring,” you told him with false annoyance, a pout across your face as your hands went to your hips.

Still, he smiled at it.

Happy, he was happy.

A simple job, in and out, no trace to be found when he’s done.

From the shadows, Macaque stared at the human that blocked out all his surroundings as he switched from his computer to experiments time and time again. Black hair, lab coat, gaudy purple and green shirt, and a thin mustache. His name meant nothing to the demon despite stalking him for the past few nights, all that mattered was his presence.

It was getting late, darkness slowly taking over the lab with only the glow from the laptop to shed any light. A rhythmic tap of the man’s pen as he got caught up in a thought. Alone with no other soul for the first time.

Just as the scientist yawned, Macaque was right behind him. His clawed hand slapping over the human’s mouth to smother any screams to alert the rest of the world. The weak being tried to struggle but the demon had his arms locked into place.

Now the next part was going to be tricky, he had only brought small objects with him when he traveled as a shadow, another living thing was never considered. He honestly had no clue if this or any person could survive the trip, but he needed him alive if he wanted to get anything out of this deal.

His clothing turned dark, his form spreading thin and enveloping the human before crashing into the floor and rushing through the shadows out of the building and to the underground.

The man squirmed, clawed, and screamed as Macaque dragged him through the darkness. In time he grew quiet, ice cold shade sapping out the warmth from his body as his mind went blank. Just as the demon reached the web silken cave and became solid once more, the man was out cold and as limp as a rag doll.

“I got that human you wanted,” Macaque called out as he walked on the uneven stone floor, taking a path that would lead to where the Spider Queen made her meals and potions.

“Set him down, gently,” she told Macaque as she looked at a cauldron filled with jade colored venom.

Macaque rolled his eyes at the order but did what he was told, letting the man be seated against the cold stone wall with at least some care.

The monkey demon then looked around the dank cave, unimpressed by the shambles it was now in. “Not much of a kingdom you got here,” he said.

“Your pet already made that jab,” she told him with an annoyed tone.

Macaque only let out a huff from the nose at that. It didn’t matter.

“That it for you?” Macaque asked as the spider demon made her way to the human and look him over.

“He’s here and he’s not dead,” she stated as she grabbed the human’s face to double check signs of life. “That’s all I need.”

“So what’s this whole thing you have planned here?” Macaque questioned as she made her way back to the pot of venom, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“As long as you stay out of the way, it’s none of your business,” she dismissed. “I might go back on our deal and have your pet work as a test subject if you keep it up.”

“Yeah? Well then nothing’s stopping me from killing this nerd you need so much.”

They shot glares at each other, tension high enough to snap the air and cause sparks.

“Let’s just say I’m figuring out a way to get the public to be more _compliant_ when I come into power.”

His tail flicked at that, it was more than enough to piece together some idea of what her plan was.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Macaque answered back, his form melting back into the shadows after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, off to bed for me!


End file.
